What The Hell???!!! I'm Speechless!
(Yahoo News) - One person has reportedly died after a massive sinkhole swallowed a three-storey building and a house in Guatemala.
The hole, larger than a street intersection, opened up in the wake of Tropical Storm Agatha in the capital Guatemala City.
At least 146 people across Central America have been killed in the storm.
Among the dead in Guatemala are four children who had been in a house that was swept away in a landslide.
Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom told a news conference that 123 people have been confirmed dead and another 90 are missing as a result of the storm.
"I want to make clear that those are provisional numbers because new information continues to come in," he said.
"There are many villages that still have not been able to report their tragedies."
Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, hit on Saturday.
More than a metre of rain fell in the west of Guatemala and in neighbouring El Salvador.
"I've got no one to help me. I watched the water take everything," said Carlota Ramos in the town of Amatitlan.
Her brick house was almost completely swamped by mud.
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have all declared nationwide states of emergency.
Over 94,000 people have been evacuated after the storm buried houses under mud and swept away a highway bridge near Guatemala City.
International aid is beginning to step up with some aid organisers turning to Facebook, Twitter and other internet social networking sites to appeal for necessities to send to populations or authorities.
France said it is sending humanitarian supplies and issued a statement expressing its condolences to the affected countries.
Guatemala City's response was hampered by a separate emergency - the eruption of a nearby volcano whose ash forced the closure of the capital's international airport.
Central America is vunerable to heavy rains due to its mountainous terrain while poor communication in rural areas can complicate rescue efforts.
(Yahoo News) - One person has reportedly died after a massive sinkhole swallowed a three-storey building and a house in Guatemala.
The hole, larger than a street intersection, opened up in the wake of Tropical Storm Agatha in the capital Guatemala City.
At least 146 people across Central America have been killed in the storm.
Among the dead in Guatemala are four children who had been in a house that was swept away in a landslide.
Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom told a news conference that 123 people have been confirmed dead and another 90 are missing as a result of the storm.
"I want to make clear that those are provisional numbers because new information continues to come in," he said.
"There are many villages that still have not been able to report their tragedies."
Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, hit on Saturday.
More than a metre of rain fell in the west of Guatemala and in neighbouring El Salvador.
"I've got no one to help me. I watched the water take everything," said Carlota Ramos in the town of Amatitlan.
Her brick house was almost completely swamped by mud.
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have all declared nationwide states of emergency.
Over 94,000 people have been evacuated after the storm buried houses under mud and swept away a highway bridge near Guatemala City.
International aid is beginning to step up with some aid organisers turning to Facebook, Twitter and other internet social networking sites to appeal for necessities to send to populations or authorities.
France said it is sending humanitarian supplies and issued a statement expressing its condolences to the affected countries.
Guatemala City's response was hampered by a separate emergency - the eruption of a nearby volcano whose ash forced the closure of the capital's international airport.
Central America is vunerable to heavy rains due to its mountainous terrain while poor communication in rural areas can complicate rescue efforts.
